The sixth seal, as in the great wrath of the Lamb earthquake has struck Earth, victims throughout the world struggle to find family and friends. Likewise with us, we're all scattered in different places!
Mamo-chan and the Outers are in the States, and we're in Tokyo. Will we find each other again?
Now we're getting a surefire way to know who's on our side and who's not. And it's time to take a chance.
The geological surveys in Arizona had gotten quite the shock that morning. First the middle eastern and European desks were reporting earthquakes.
According to EuroGeo machinery, there are currently quakes in Morocco, India, China, Spain, even England is reporting huge tectonic movement.
In the chaos, Hotaru had taken cover under an empty car transporter carrier to avoid the meteors. When it all stopped, she crawled out and observed her surroundings, trying to figure out where to go.
Down the road, she saw that the roof of the fire department had caved in completely. She looked to her left and saw rats crawling over fallen people that most likely died in the quake. Disgusted and greatly alarmed, she scrambled to her feet.
Oh no, was everyone else still alive? Stay calm, got to find the others. She looked to her communicator watch.
Please be alright. She prayed, hoping the other sailor senshi and the rest of the Young Trib force had survived. "Vicki? Vicki, can you hear me? Ryan?"
All she got was static, the same when she tried to contact the Inners. So she tried the outer senshi who'd looked after her as she grew up again. "Haruka? Michiru?"
There was a roaring sound on the frequency she attempted before hearing Michiru's voice. "…Hotaru?"
"Michiru!" Hotaru gasped with relief.
"Where are you?"
"About a few miles from the school… or what's left of it. You're up in the air?" She'd questioned this, recognizing the roar of the helicopter blades.
"We still are. That meteor shower almost took us out." Haruka had responded this time.
"Never mind that. Can you tell me if you can see anyone else up there?"
Haruka's voice came through. "I don't know what to tell you, kiddo."
"Right now you've got eyes up there in the sky – tell me."
"A lot of the houses and apartments have crumbled and fallen, so did some of the taller sky scrapers, dozens have lost their skin. Some of houses were harder hit than others. A few are pretty much damaged but not destroyed. Other buildings were pretty much flattened."
"Guide me to New Hope church, maybe I'll find someone there." Hotaru pleaded.
Haruka did so, guiding the younger girl through the debris and fallen buildings. On her walk, she saw a few people scurrying, rummaging through the rubble and the screams of trapped victims. And a police siren behind her.
The officer spoke through an amplifier. "Stay out of your homes!" the officer said. "Do not return to your homes! If you need help, get to an open area where we can find you!"
At a distance, Hotaru spied the steeple of the church. She climbed over fallen trees. The parking lot was a crater filled with cars and rocks and jutting concrete. The steeple was the only thing standing. The sanctuary was gone. Broken stained glass littered the pavement below. The Sunday school rooms and offices were a pile of bricks and glass and mortar. This was all that was left of New Hope Village Church. Some of the pews still in place. Others were pushed against each other like an accordion.
'Mr. Moore and the others must've gotten away…' she thought, until she came upon an upturned car… and the crushed body that belonged to Loretta, the southern lady, that was always so kind to her and the girls whenever they visited.
Hotaru gasped and turned away, covering her face and couldn't hold back the tears. First those horrible people in the Global Community took away Lionel, then they started trying to recruit Makoto and Minako in Japan, and now they're all separated and possibly have lost potential friends here to the earthquake.
The only consolation is that Loretta and the Moores are now with Bruce and their families up there in Heaven. But how many more will they never see again until the Tribulation ends?
As she stood there shaking and sobbing, she heard someone else crying too. For a moment she froze, then cautiously went to check it out. There in the pews she found a girl. Wait, this was the girl Ryan had helped rescue: Darrion Stahley.
"Darrion?"
The girl jumped and spun around, but calmed when she saw Hotaru. "I know you, you're one of those Japanese girls that hung out with Ryan and his friends."
Hotaru nods. "My name is Hotaru Tomoe. I lost sight of Vicki after… well, maybe we can search together."
The two girls leave only for Haruka and Michiru to reach the church thirty minutes later and find out Dr. Judah is still alive, albeit trapped in the secret bunker.
Back in Tokyo, the survivors were still reeling from the earthquake.
Umino Gurio, Naru Osaka and her mother, Mayumi Osaka, barely survived. Mother and daughter had been stuck on the second floor and were hurriedly forced to climb out through the window to a tree that fell towards it. Umino had been in night school and had to literally jump out the window before part of the wall collapsed.
Now the weary teenagers were dragging the injured woman on a makeshift stretcher made from planks, rope and towels to the nearest shelter being held at the adjacent old building of the Amanogawa elementary school a couple blocks away.
The trio walked past bodies of people who had tried to hide from the earthquake. They had crawled under chunks of asphalt to protect themselves. Now they were crushed. It was terrible.
As Mrs. Osaka was being checked up, the couple glance around for any familiar faces, and spot Ami in the near back on her minicomputer.
The communicators still work, but finding each other is another story entirely. Usagi said she got her parents and were headed for the shelter, but she couldn't get a hold of Rei, Makoto nor Minako.
Ami decide to find out more by using her mini-supercomputer. She discovered a Web site with a people search. The Global Community was already tracking the number of deaths. Many of her friends were registered as "no known whereabouts". Same with the Young Trib force. Next up was the original Tribulation Force. Captain Rayford Steele was 'confirmed alive.' Chloe and Buck Williams were not accounted for. The same for Loretta and Donny Moore. But when she typed in Amanda Steele's name, she gasped at the following sentence: 'Subject confirmed on Boston to New Babylon nonstop, reported crashed and submerged in. Tigris River, no survivors.'
"Ami!"
Ami turned to see Naru and Umino, her concern giving away to relief. At least some familiar faces were alive and in one piece here.
"Naru! Umino! You made it out!"
"And right in the nick of time too." Umino said. He then squinted for a moment then cleaned his glasses looking at Ami. "Hmm, I think you might've bruised your forehead. "
"I have?" Ami touched her forehead. "But I feel nothing." She looked to Naru and Umino and looked a little perplexed when she saw their foreheads. "You have something on your foreheads right there."
She wonders… she read this somewhere in the Bible. She conveys this to them. Umino does a search of Tsion's Web site. "Here it is: 'Many of you have noticed a mysterious mark the size of a thumbprint on the forehead of other believers. Do not be alarmed. This is the seal, visible only to other believers.' "
"A seal?"
"And yet other people don't see it?" Ami was surprised.
"Maybe we should do a test," Naru said.
She walked outside to a nurse nearby. She pulled back her bangs and said, "Do you see anything on my forehead?"
"Well there's no bruising or zits, if that's what you're asking," The nurse said. "Is there supposed to be something up there?"
"I guess not." Naru shrugged. She returned, shaking her head. "Checks out, this is the genuine article."
"Listen to this," said. " The seventh chapter of Revelation tells of 'the servants of our God' being sealed on their foreheads.' "
"So this is basically a stamp of approval from both Yahweh and Jesus." Umino speculated.
This gave them an advantage, now believers are able to locate each other with ease and yet blend in with Antichrist and Global Community Potentate Nicolae Carpathia's henchmen when necessary.
Buck Williams must find his wife Chloe Steele, who was last seen in a house that is now a shattered ruin. The only other person accounted for is Tsion Ben-Judah, and nearly a quarter of the world's population was snuffed out by the earthquake. The Global Community (GC) starts a new program called Cellular Solar, aka: Cell-Sol (pronounced sell-soul), a solar powered cell phone global network. Both Buck and Tsion find a new home for the Tribulation Force, half of a duplex belonging to the late Donny Moore and his wife, after discovering the death of Loretta, a close friend to the Tribulation Force, and after Buck rescues Tsion from the shelter under the church where he lived.
Buck searches for Chloe, discovering she is pregnant with their baby. He also meets Floyd Charles, a physician and fellow believer, who later joins the Trib. Force. Mac, becomes a Believer. Buck finds Chloe in a GC Hospital and rescues her, taking her back to the house where he and Tsion are staying. Tsion is planning to go back to Israel to teach the 144,000 witnesses. Ken Ritz becomes a believer as well.
Meanwhile, Rei and her father were buried by rubble when the earthquake hit. She didn't have many scratches on her body but it still hurts. And she didn't know how badly her father was injured, but with the crushed legs, it didn't bode well.
Usually during an earthquake or in the aftermath, if you are caught under debris, remaining calm will help you stay focused and better able to be found. The darkness was understandably frightening, but lighting a match was out of the question, it may immediately ignite any spilled fuel from pipes cracked open by the earthquake. There's also avoiding kicking up or inhaling dust. as you may inhale toxins or dangerous amounts of airborne debris and dust.
She'd been tapping rhythmically on a hard surface or if possible, whistle to alert help.
What she didn't know was that said actions had paid off. Her pet crows, Phobos and Deimos, had been lingered close to the temple in search of her. Once they heard the tapping, they cawed and began to fly about to get the attention of the others that lived in the temple: Rei's grandfather and Yuiichiro.
The old man and his student had crawled out of the rubble and were stunned by the destruction. They hadn't gone far, looking around and calling for Rei and her father for hours. Then they saw Phobos and Deimos circling at the near end of the stairs by some fallen poles, cawing loudly.
It could only mean that was where they were. They couldn't get them out, but finally, a crew of neighbors dug through the rubble to get them free.
Rei and her father in the meantime had talked, trying to stay awake. For it was not recommendable to fall asleep. There were moments when he murmured something, but Rei couldn't make out what her father said.
As she tried to keep him awake, he'd suddenly held her hand tightly. "No matter what. I'm proud of you… brought such a warrior into the world."
Finally light pierced the darkness, making Rei cover her eyes.
"We found them!"
"We're getting out." Rei looked to her father and squeezed his hand. He didn't squeeze back.
12:36 pm
Vicki had wandered for two whole hours. The closest shelter was back at what was left of Nicolae high.
She reaches the place at 1:22 pm where she finds Shelley at the flagpole. At 2:14 pm, Darrion and Hotaru run into Vicki on the way, much to their relief.
"Vicki!" Hotaru gasped in relief.
The girl was equally reassured at seeing two more familiar faces made it out alive. "Hotaru! Darrion!"
"Are you okay?"
"What happened?"
Hotaru went first telling them about Mio's true identity and what she'd done just after Mrs. Jenness had taken Vicki. Darrion trembled when she heard about the carnival incident.
Vicki staggered in place. "Mio was Beryl's shadow? As in the same Evil Queen who…?"
"The same one." Hotaru nods grimly. "But how did you escape from that terrible woman - Jenness?"
Vicki explained that as the principal was gloating while driving on the bridge, it's destroyed in the earthquake, and the car was in is carried into a mud-flow that lead into a huge hole. As this happens, Vicki tried to preach to the principal about Jesus Christ, but a fallen tree trunk crushed the principal. Vicki was able to escape, but the car and the fallen tree trunk both fall into the deep hole. She went back to the school and found Shelley, who is alive.
Shelley had returned to the trailer park to look for her mother, while Vicki was on her way to the house that was when she ran into Hotaru and Darrion. Hotaru assured them that Haruka and Michiru were alive but she was unable to get ahold of the others.
And by 4:08 pm, they received news about Ryan's whereabouts. When the man came over the rubble, she was surprised to see he had no uniform. "What are you two doing here?" the man said.
"I live here," Vicki said. "At least, I used to."
"Can you prove it?" the man said.
Vicki thought a moment. She couldn't without any papers or a driver's license. She shook her head. "I don't have an ID, but this really is my house. Those are my clothes over there."
"She's telling the truth." Hotaru piped up.
"If it's really your house," the man said, "you'll know who we found here a few hours ago."
"You found Ryan?" Vicki said.
The man smiled. "He was right down there," he said. "We pulled him out just before the water got to him."
"Is he all right?" Vicki said.
"He was alive," the man said, "but he didn't look good. He'd been trapped the whole day."
"Where is he now?" Vicki said.
"Don't know," the man said. "I helped put him into one of those Ambu-Vans. They took him to get help, but I don't know where."
Vicki thanked the man, located her purse, then grabbed a few changes of clothes and stuffed them into an overnight bag she found floating by. The water was at ground level.
5:52 P.M.
Naturally, Vicki and Hotaru wanted to find Ryan, but knew they needed shelter for the night. The sun was going down, and it was getting colder. Vicki, Hotaru and Darrion backtracked to the high school.
Hotaru asked about Ryan, and a man with a clipboard looked through several pages. He shook his head. "No Ryan Daley here," he said, "but we've got a bunch of victims who haven't been identified yet."
"Where are they?" Vicki said. The man pointed to a corner of the gym where bodies lay covered. "A doctor told me you didn't have a morgue here," Vicki said.
"We didn't a few hours ago," the man said.
"Don't you have any unidentified injured?" Vicki said.
The man looked at his clipboard again. "We do, but there's no one who fits the description of your friend," he said. "You can look if you'd like."
Hotaru, Vicki and Darrion were led into the locker room. A few mattresses lay on the floor. Some people moaned and cried with severe injuries. The shower had been turned into an operating room. It was clear from a quick look that Ryan wasn't there. Darrion looked nervously at Vicki. "You think we should look in the gym?" she said.
"He's not dead," Vicki said. "Come on, I'll prove it."
Vicki lifted sheet after sheet from the dead bodies. Ryan wasn't there. As they were leaving, Shelly returned. From the look on her face, it was clear, she had been crying.
"I made it back to our trailer," Shelly said, "but the whole place was destroyed. Trailers on top of each other, twisted, broken in two."
"Did you find your mother?" asked Hotaru.
Shelly shook her head. "I found our neighbor next door who got out," she said. "The ground opened up and swallowed my house whole. I assume my mom was still inside, but there's no way to tell."
Vicki hugged Shelly. "Come on, you're with us now," Vicki said.
The next shelter was a mile away. They were told there were injured being treated there and beds for those who needed a place to sleep.
"I can't believe the house is gone," Vicki said. "I wonder if Judd's place is still standing."
"I saw Mark before I got to the high school," Shelly said. "He and his aunt made it, but they can't stay in the house. He did have some good news, though."
"What's that?" Vicki said.
"He said he saw Buck Williams driving his Range Rover near the church," Shelly said. "At least Buck made it."
"But what about Chloe and Loretta?" Vicki said.
"Loretta's gone." Hotaru said downcast. "I saw for myself."
"And Tsion Ben-Judah?"
Shelly shook her head. "Mark only saw Buck."
9:22 P.M.
The camp was a series of tents salvaged from a nearby sporting goods store. Volunteers handed out sleeping bags and blankets to those straggling in. Families huddled over small fires. While Shelly and Darrion scoped out a place to sleep, Hotaru and Vicki went to the large tent in the center. The injured lay on-air mattresses or on the ground.
As she entered, a young woman let out a piercing scream. "No!" she yelled as she gripped the hand of a pale woman. Vicki found a nurse and asked about Ryan. The nurse showed her a list of the dead.
'Thais the best I can do for you," the woman said. The two thanked her and scanned the names. There was no Ryan Daley. They walked through the tent and couldn't find him. They rejoined Darrion and Shelly in a small, four-person tent. They held steaming cups of soup and bread. Shelly had a bandage for her ear.
"No spoons," Darrion said, "but it's pretty good."
They handed Hotaru and Vicki a cup each. The meal was simple but satisfying.
"You think we can all fit in here?" Vicki said.
"We'll have to, " Shelly said. "It's supposed to get chilly, and they could only spare two blankets."
"We'll huddled together for warmth when the temperature drops." Hotaru suggested.
"The soup was good," Darrion said when she had finished, 'but I'd go for some shrimp cocktail right now."
Shelly cackled. "You've spent too much time at the country club," she said. "I'd go for a cheeseburger. Extra cheese."
"Don't remind me," Hotaru said, sipping her soup. "I could go for some soba myself – that's the Japanese buckwheat noodles."
'Stop," Vicki said. "You guys are making me hungry for dessert."
"Cheesecake," Darrion said.
"Apple pie and ice cream," Shelly said. "My mom, when she was sober, used to bake it from scratch. Then the ice cream would melt on top."
"Did your mother ever ... I mean, was she ..." Darrion stammered.
"Was she a Christian?" Shelly said.
"If you don't want to talk about it, I understand," Darrion said.
"It's OK," Shelly said. "Vicki knows I tried to talk to her. Sometimes she'd listen, but most of the time she'd get mad."
Vicki shook her head and shivered. "The graveyard, I can't stop thinking about it."
"I'd still be screaming if it had happened to me," Darrion said. Hotaru nodded in agreement, such an experience was grisly.
"Plus, Mrs. Jenness," Vicki said. "It helps to talk."
"Then go ahead," Shelly said.
"When we were on the bridge, it was like she was a little kid," Vicki said. "She froze. Couldn't move. Then we were in the water and I got out. But I felt guilty leaving her."
"You can't force people to do what they need to do," Shelly said.
"-the look on her face will haunt me forever," Vicki said.
"You know what I think?" Darrion said. "I think we ought to be thankful for the miracle that you're alive. You could have gone down with her."
"I was so scared," Vicki said. "I could tell God was helping me because I just seemed to go on autopilot. I didn't even think about what could happen; I just did it."
Hotaru, Shelly and Darrion recounted their experiences. Finally Shelly said, "I wonder how everybody else is. We know Mark's and some of the others are OK, but what about Lionel and Ryan?"
"And Judd," Darrion said.
"If I know Judd,' Vicki said, 'he's out there somewhere in a lot of trouble, but he's alive."
The girls stopped talking and listened to the crackling fires and the moans and cries that came from the main tent. They tried to get some rest that night except Vicki began to have nightmares. Shelley then hurried to inform the girls that a shelter was opened a few blocks from the school. It was closest to Judd's house, so Ryan ought to be there.
Vicki wanted to go at once, but needed to rest so they would search in the morning.
Back in Tokyo, the sun was rising. Minako thought she was going in the right direction, but it was impossible to tell by the streets. Every familiar building or business left standing stood at odd angles. People wandered about in a daze. Some had no shoes. Others were bleeding and seemed near death. A few had survived horrible burns from the meteors and had to be carried. Other survivors were beginning the grisly task of bringing out the dead. Bodies lay covered on mounds of dirt. Geysers of water shot up from broken fire hydrants. Animals roamed about, sniffing at the rubble and whimpering.
Find the others, find the others, was the mantra she kept repeating in her head.
Earlier, she'd found what was left of the arcade and got to a computer and used the people search for the rest, much like Ami found out. Many of them were under 'whereabouts unknown'. In a quick thought, she typed out her acquaintances in England. Alan and Katarina are safe but she's worried for them since the police force has become part of the Global Community.
So her she was walking the streets and was relieved to find familiar faces. Makoto had survived the earthquake. Having nearly been crushed, but forced to run out of the hideout and into the streets. Ail and Ann made it too albeit with grisly injuries. Ann had a nasty cut on the back of her calf and Ail broke his arm.
The best they could do is head for the shelter, maybe the others made it there and were being tended. When it came to leaving and escaping the GC in the event they're recognized it was an entirely different story.
"Fine, you can try and float up, but we're taking the dirigible to do so." Minako replied with a grin.
The two stared before following her gaze and were surprised.
And a couple few blocks away, the Amazon quartet and Nanako had survived the earthquake but they were not physically unhurt from the ordeal.
Junjun broke her arm, Vesves had a sprained ankle, Cerecere and Nanako had several cuts on them and PallaPalla had a concussion. They were relieved to be alive but shell-shocked that their homes were now gone… the quartet were further bewildered to find the seal of God on their comrades' foreheads couldn't see theirs on reflective surfaces nor on the girl they were walking with.
"Okay. What about the Western God?"
To keep their minds off the situation at hand, the four tried to explain their new faith to Nanako. The girl and CereCere were helping VesVes as they neared to closest shelter.
"Then why don't you tell me exactly what it is about?"
PallaPalla looked a little sheepish. Well, the man in the church explained it better.
"It's about what to expect in the future," CereCere began. "It's about the Big Bad of everything Evil himself, making war on God. Yes, they're all the true-blue thing, which I probably should've told you too."
"It's about the battles that are going on, every minute of every day, in the hearts and souls and minds of every human being on this planet. In case you haven't noticed, Carpathia wants to assure that anyone and everyone who doesn't submit 100% to the Enigma Babylon belief is a crook bent on destroying the world.
"He is trying to make it seem as if the only way for the human race to survive is to wipe out anyone who disagrees with him. Does that sound like a savior to you?"
"Not really." admitted Nanako.
They hadn't known it but lately, she'd been seeing incidents in the news and in everyday life that just didn't sit right with her. Yes, there's a lot of creepy things and weird rules said in the western Bible, but there were also so many wonderful stories and lessons there too. What's so bad about believing?
"I don't know if it will help, or if I truly understand," the younger girl admits. "But I still want to try."
The four guided her, their eyes closed and speaking softly. Finally when they finished, Nanako opened her eyes to the quartet and gasped.
"The cross seal… I see it! I see it!" Nanako said excitedly, looking at one face to the next.
And this amazed the four young girls, this could only mean this mysterious cross imprint was from Heaven… and they'd found their first convert.
"Way to go!" cheered Junjun, only to wince because of her injured arm.
"Let's hold off the celebrating until we get to a doctor – all of us." Cerecere insisted then pointed. Look there. We've reached the shelter."
Ten feet away in the front of the shelter, Usagi and her parents had spotted Saki. The tough girl was sitting on the ground, with Nehelenia and her handmaid, attempting to heal a nasty cut on the teenage girl's arm.
"Saki! Nehelenia!" Usagi approached.
"Hey Tsukino, you and your folks made it out!" Saki smiled as best as she could. "Hey, you got the seal too!"
Usagi touched her own forehead. "And right in the nick too."
Just then a gurney a pushed through with a familiar dark-haired girl on it towards Dr. Saeko Mizuno, Ami's mother. They saw the seal on her forehead, good. Ami will be relieved.
Bit by bit Usagi was reunited with friends and old allies that survived the quake and had the seal of the believers on their foreheads. The Ayakashi sisters had somehow made it out and were dragged along with survivors to the shelter to be treated. She found Ami with Rei – who was the girl the paramedics had just brought in. She was alive albeit with broken ribs and her father had perished hours earlier. Also Mamoru, Makoto, Minako and the others were still missing.
Usagi finds Naru and apologizes to her and the others for what happened. "I'm sorry, there' so many things that happened and we're possibly going to get you dragged into."
"You're unbelievable." Naru pursed her lips, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry."
"I meant because you and the girls kept such a big secret hidden." Naru corrected. "About your superhero occupation and all that fighting you had to do."
Usagi is shocked. "Wait, you know?"
Umino walks up with a shrug. "We've known the truth for weeks – she and Saki figured it out. So we had to keep sabotaging Mio's efforts so the GC wouldn't find out."
Saki gives Usagi a playful punch "We're honestly a lot more ticked off about that than barely surviving the imfamous wrath of the lamb earthquake. Now that it's not a secret, though, she asks Usagi to tell her about her Sailor Senshi abilities."
After hearing the whole story, Naru tells Usagi that she isn't worried.
"Even if you don't do very well when it comes to doing things for yourself, like with her test scores. Well, Usagi you're terrible at taking care of yourself. But when it comes to others you do a great job."
It was already early morning around six, they talking wondering where everyone else is when one of the GC gets everyone's attention on the news.
A man was speaking through a bullhorn. "All able-bodied people should move to the media tent for a special announcement," the GC guard was saying. "Potentate Nicolae Carpathia will make a statement via satellite shortly."
"Oh goodie, we're just leaping for joy." Koan said sarcastically, she was cradling her injured hand.
"You wait, he's going to use this to his advantage to further hoodwink the world," Ami sighed wearily.
A Global Community newscaster gave the latest. "The number of dead and injured worldwide is staggering," the man said. "These pictures show the extent of the damage."
Video clips of major cities flashed on the screen. A shot of Paris showed the Eiffel Tower in ruins. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was no longer leaning but flat on the ground. Shots of New York Los Angeles, and Chicago gave them the chills. "Other natural phenomena occurred during the earthquake," the newscaster said. "This amateur video was shot in New Babylon during the earthquake."
The camera was shaky, but there was mistaking the fire in the sky. The Sun had turned dark.
Nicolae Carpathia's face flashed on the screen. He looked grim but composed. "Brothers and sisters in the Global Community, I address you from New Babylon. Like you, I lost many loved ones, dear friends, and loyal associates in the tragedy. Please accept my deepest and most sincere sympathy for your losses on behalf of the administration of the Global Community. "No one could have predicted this random act of nature, the worst in history to strike the globe. We were in the final stages of our rebuilding effort following the war against a resistant minority. Now, as I trust you are able to witness wherever you are, rebuilding has already begun again." Nicolae told viewers that New Babylon would become the center of the world for banking, government, and even Enigma Babylon One World Faith. "I am humbled to serve you and pledge that I will give my all for as long as you allow me the privilege. Now let me just add that I am aware that, due to speculative reporting in one of our own Global Community publications, many have been confused by recent events."
"What speculative reporting?" Naru asked.
"Must be Buck Williams's magazine article," Usagi said.
"While it may appear that the global earthquake coincided with the so-called wrath of the Lamb, let me clarify," Nicolae said. "Those who believe this disaster was God's doing are also those who believe that the disappearances nearly two years ago were people being swept away to heaven. However, I do not understand how a god they describe as just and loving would capriciously decide who is or is not worthy of heaven and effect that decision in what they refer to as 'the twinkling of an eye.' "Has this same loving god come back two years later to rub it in? He expresses his anger to those unfortunate left behind by laying waste their world and killing off a huge percentage of them?"
"I'm not blaming the God of Israel." Rei grumbled from her bed as she recovered. "At least not anymore."
"Yeah, we should be dissing the idiots who thought it was a good idea to mess with believers in the first place!" Junjun added hotly.
"That's not what I meant."
Someone shushes them.
"I humbly ask devout believers in such a Supreme Being to forgive me if I have mischaracterized your god Carpathia continued. "But any thinking citizen realizes that this picture simply does not add up. "So, my brothers and sisters, do not blame God for what we are enduring. See it simply as one of life's crucibles, a test of our spirit and will, an opportunity to look within ourselves and draw on that deep wellspring of goodness we were born with. Let us work together to m our world a global phoenix, rising from the ashes of tragedy to become the greatest society ever known. I bid you good-bye and goodwill until next I speak with you.
The Quartet mimed sticking finger down their throat to induce vomit. The Ayakashi sisters rolled their eyes.
Ami then alerted the others that she's just gotten through to Judd, who was alive and on his way back to Chicago. He was telling them what he'd heard from his friend in New Babylon, Pavel a boy in a wheelchair telling him what had occurred. The teen's father tells the strangest story about Nicolae. Carpathia escaped certain death when he took a helicopter from the roof of his office. But his right-hand man didn't make it.
"Leon Fortunato?"
"Exactly. How did you know?"
"I met him once," Judd had answered. "And get this: Pavel's father said Fortunato is telling the story everywhere that Nicolae raised him from the dead!"
"That can't be!" Usagi shook her head.
"Pavel's father was in Nicolae's shelter. It's a huge underground facility big enough for Nicolae's airplanes. Suddenly, the potentate walks in with Fortunato. Leon was covered with dirt."
"That doesn't prove anything."
"According to him, Fortunato tells it like it is fact, the man told the staff he fell to the bottom of the building, struck his head, and died. The next thing he remembers, he hears Nicolae's voice saying, 'Leonardo, come forth.' "
Judd then said. "Those are the same words Jesus used to call Lazarus from the grave. Sounds like a counterfeit to me."
"If he was dead, how could he hear Carpathia summoning him?" Vesves asked in a flat tone.
Ami pursed her lips in uncharacteristic disdain. "Another thing, if he truly was injured by all that – how did his wounds heal in a matter of minutes?"
"Indeed, isn't there any one being skeptical of his claims?" Nehelenia shook her head in disbelief.
"Yeah, they refuse to believe in Yahweh, but suddenly everyone and their know-it-all selves eat up the questionable claims of this egomaniac?" Saki criticized, nearly throwing up her hands. "Furthermore, there were other dead people in there, so why didn't the precious potentate resurrect them too?"
The others gaped, starting to see her reasoning. They made it through the sixth seal but danger still awaited, did anyone else they knew actually fall for the GC nonsense?
To be continued…
